Can opener



Dec. 11, 1962 G. w. KEAN 3,067,510

CAN OPENER Filed June 9, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

G. W. KEAN G. W. KEAN CAN OPENER Dec. 11, 1962 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 Filed June 9, 1961 INVENTOR.

6. W. KEAN Arronupy United States Patent Office 3,967,510 Patented Dec. 11, lose 3,067,510 CAN QPENER George W. Kean, Granhy, Conn., assignor of fifty percent to Angelo J. Roncari, East Granby, Conn, Albert J.

Roncari and Raymond A. Roncari, both of Windsor Locks, Conn.

Filed June 9, 1961, Ser. No. 115,987 Claims. (Cl. 30-9) This invention relates to can openers and more particularly to a form of wall mounted can opener shown and described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 737,639, filed May 26, 1958, now Patent No. 2,997,786, granted Aug. 29, 1961.

Specifically the invention relates to improved pressure applying means for forcing the cutting wheel and feeding wheel, shown and described in the above referred to application, toward each other during the operation of opening a can.

An object of primary importance of the invention is that springs of the Belleville type are housed within the arm of the opener shown in the above referred to application, the pressure of the cutting wheel against the feed wheel being applied by a manually operated lever to compress the springs to a high compressive force by very slight forward movement of the plunger engaging the rear spring of the series and to which plunger the cutting wheel is attached.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention may include the features of construction and operation set forth in the following specification and illus trated in the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings annexed hereto and forming a part of this specification, I have shown the invention embodied in a manually operated wall mounted opener, but it will be understood that the invention can be otherwise embodied and that the drawings are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims appended to this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a complete opener with a can to be opened in position for opening and with the cutting wheel in its forward and cutting position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with the cutting and pressure wheels in their separated position;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal central sectional view of the opener shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse section of the arm or bracket, the section being taken on the plane of line 44 in FIG. 2.

In the above-mentioned drawings there has been shown but one embodiment of the invention which is now deemed preferable, but it is to be understood that changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring more in detail to the figures of the drawing, and first to FIG. 2, the feeding wheel 12 and cutting wheel are mounted at the outer end of an arm 14 in every way similar to the corresponding parts shown and described in the above referred to application.

The cutting wheel 10 is rotatably mounted on and at one side of a plunger 16 slidable within the arm 14. The rear portion of this plunger is recessed and within the recess are housed a series of dished washers 18 positioned in opposed relation to each other and forming a resilient connection between the plunger and an actuating member 20 slidably mounted within the rear portion of the plunger 16. By means of these Belleville type springs 18 a relatively short movement forward of the actuating member 20 within the plunger 16 builds up substantial pressure sufiicient to force the plunger 16 and cutting wheel 10 into cutting contact with the can W being opened.

To effect this forward movement of the actuating member 20, the plunger 16 and cutting wheel 10, a pair of lever arms 22 are provided on opposite sides of the arm 14 which have their forward ends connected to a transverse rod or bolt 24. The rear ends of these lever arms 22 are pivotally attached to the lower ends of a bifurcated lever 26 by short pivot pins 27. This bifurcated lever 26 in turn has the lower ends of its arms pivotally connected to a transverse rod 23 on a fixed axis within the arm 14. The pivot for bifurcated lever 26 and the pivotal connection 27 between the horizontal levers 22 and the bifurcated lever 26 are slightly out of alignment with each other when the cutting wheel 10 and feed wheel 12 are separated. By movement of the bifurcated lever 26 from the position shown in FIG. 2 in full lines to the position shown in FIG. 1, the levers 22 are brought into horizontal position as shown in FIG. 1 to slightly move forward their forward ends. The pivotal connection 27 for the members 22 will then be slightly forward of the pivot 28 and in alignment therewith. This forces the actuating member 20 slidably forward within the plunger 16 to compress the Belleville springs 18 and force the plunger 16' and cutting wheel 10 into operative position toward the feed wheel 12.

In removing a can W from the opener after the cutting operation has been completed, it is desirable to partially withdraw the cutting wheel 10 from full cutting depth but to leave this wheel still slightly in engagement with the lid or cover of the can so that the can cover with its outer bead cut through may be pried loose from the body of the can.

In order to limit the retrograde movement of the cutting wheel 10 and retain the wheel in an intermediate position while the can W is being removed from between the cutting and feed wheels, a lever 30 is pivoted as shown most clearly in FIG. 2 at its midpoint to an intermediate point of the bifurcated lever 26. Preferably a small weight 32 may be provided at the lower end of this pivotally mounted lever 30. A short distance above thIeGweight a hooked recess 34 is formed also as shown in F 2.

After an opening operation has been completed, the bifurcated lever 26 is raised from its horizontal position by its outer end formed as a handle to an oblique position shown in dot and dash outline in FIG. 2. In this oblique position the hooked recess 34- engages a nut or a projection at the outer end of the transverse rod 24 and prevents further movement upward of the bifurcated lever 26. In this slightly separated position of the cutting and feed wheels 16 and 12, the can cover or lid can readily be removed from the body of the can W.

The pressure or feed wheel 12 is mounted on a fixed axis for rotation at the outer end of the arm 14 This wheel 12 is mounted as shown in FIG. 3 on the lower end of a shaft 38 which has on its upper end a bevel gear 40 in mesh with another bevel gear (not shown) mounted on a horizontal shaft 42 at its inner end. A handle 44 at the outer end of this horizontal shaft 42 permits rotation of the bevel gears shaft 38 and wheel 12 to rotate the can W while the cutting wheel 12 is pressed forward to its cutting position. As this part of the device is similar in every way to the corresponding parts described in my above referred to co-pending application, further description is not thought to be necessary for a full understanding.

In order to facilitate guiding a can W to be opened into position with its upper rim disposed between the wheels 10 and 12, a back rest 50 may be provided at the outer end of a bracket arm 52. At its rear end the bracket arm 52 may be secured in any suitable manner to the base 14*. The can W is placed with its cylindrical surface in contact with the lateral edges of this back rest. The can is then raised'until its upper rim is disposed between wheels 16 and 12. Wheel 1% is then forced forward by lever 26 until the surfaces of the upper rim are pinched by wheels 10 and 12.

I claim as my invention:

1. A can opener comprising in combination, a body member, a rotatable cutting wheel, a rotatable feed wheel, rotation of said cutting and feed wheels serving to cut a groove in the periphery of a can disposed between the adjacent portions of said Wheels, means to move one of said wheels, toward the other, and resilient means comprising a series of Belleville springs interposed in the means to move one of said wheels toward the other.

2. A can opener comprising in combination a body member, a rotatable cutting wheel, a rotatable feed wheel, rotation of said cutting and feed Wheels serving to cut a groove in the periphery of a can disposed between the adjacent portions of said wheels, means to move one of said wheels toward the other, and resilient means comprising a series of Belleville springs disposed in opposed relation to each other interposed in the means to move one of said wheels toward the other.

3. A can opener comprising in combination a body member, a rotatable cutting wheel, a plunger slidable within said body members and on which said cutting wheel is supported, a rotatable feed wheel, rotation of said cutting and feed wheels serving to cut a groove in the periphery of a can disposed between the adjacent portions of said wheels, means to move said plunger and cutting wheel toward said feed Wheel, and resilient means comprising a series of Belleville springs interposed in the means to move said cutting wheel toward said feed wheel.

4. A can opener comprising in combination a body member, a rotatable cutting wheel, a rotatable feed wheel, rotation of said cutting and feed wheels serving to cut a groove in the periphery of a can disposed between the adjacent portions of said wheels, manually operated lever means to move one of said wheels toward the other, resilient means interposed in the means to move one of said wheels toward the other, and means for limiting the retrograde movement of said movable wheel to an intermediate position.

5. A can opener comprising in combination a body member, a rotatable cutting wheel, a rotatable feed wheel, rotation of said cutting and feed wheels serving to cut a groove in the periphery of a can disposed between the adjacent portions of said wheels, a manually operated lever to move one of said wheels toward the other, resilient means interposed in the means to move one of said wheels toward the other, and means provided on said manually operated lever to limit the retrograde movement of said cutting wheel to an intermediate position.

No references cited.- 

